The Executive Branch of the
government is responsible making sure the laws made by Congress are carried
out. Article II of the Constitution sets up the executive branch.

Section 1 ~
President and Vice President

The President
is given executive power.

The President
holds office for a term of 4 years.

Each state
appoints a number of Electors. (This number is equal to the
number of Senators and Representatives it has in Congress.)

Congress sets
the date and time for choosing Electors.

The President
must be born in the United States.

The President
must be at least 35 years of age.

The President
must have been living in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

The Vice
President will take the place of the President if for any reason
the President cannot serve.

If both the
President and Vice President cannot serve, Congress passes a law
which appoints someone to fill the office until the next
election.

The President
will be paid for his job.

The President
must take the following oath before taking office.

(I do solemnly
swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President
of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United
States.)

Section 2 ~
Powers of the President

The President
shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the army and the navy.

The President
will lead the militia of the states when they are called to
serve the government.

The President
can ask his advisors for ideas.

The President
can pardon criminals.

The President
can make treaties with other nations with the approval of
Congress.

The President
can appoint representatives to other nations, appoint Supreme
Court judges, and other people necessary to do the work of the
government.

Section 3 ~
Presidential Duties

The President
will give Congress information on the State of the Union.

The President
will recommend any laws s/he thinks are necessary.

The President
will make sure laws made by Congress are carried out.

The President,
Vice President, and all other officers of the U.S., shall be
removed from office on impeachment. They may be impeached for
treason, bribery, or other crimes. To impeach means to bring
charges against an officers to the Senate. The Senate will act
as the court to try the case.

Electoral College

Popular Vote

Electoral Vote

The people vote every four years
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November for
President and Vice President.

The winner of this election is the
winner of the Popular Vote.

After the Popular Vote, the
electors (Each state has the same number of electors as Senators
and Representatives.) vote. In most cases the electors vote for
the same candidate that the people of their states voted;
however, there is no law that states they must vote this way.

If no candidate gets more than
half of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives votes
for the President from among the top three and the Senate votes
for the Vice President.

Four times in
the United States' history one candidate who won the popular
vote but lost the electoral vote:

Year

Popular
Vote Winner

Electoral
Vote Winner

1824

Andrew Jackson
(received less than 50% of
electoral votes)

John Quincy Adams
(picked by the House of Representatives)

1876

Samuel
Tilden

Rutherford B. Hayes

1888

Grover Cleveland

Benjamin Harrison

2000

Al Gore

George Bush

Congress has tried to change
the Electoral College system without success.